What the People Think
by Sam the Wise
Summary: Ordon doesn't like Hylians, but hell if Ilia will let that deter her.


**Don't ask me where this came from, I just like taking note of the little details (such as Link being the only Hylian in Ordon, as far as I remember, which is pretty fascinating if you think about it), and I love stories based on those little details. Twisting things into AU and trying out possibilities is always fun.**

**So, now that that's out of the way… enjoy!**

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Ilia always kept her saddened gaze focused on the dirt ground below her when she went out, just to avoid the curious - and sometimes even derisive - stares she got. She deafened herself the words of the town on her way to Rusl and Uli's house to pick up shy little Colin, then eventually emotionally collapsed on her way to Link's tree house.

She did this all because they didn't accept it.

Hylians. From what she remembered of the history of their little town, Ordon had been established as a home away from the superiority of Hylian royalty, a place where the normal humans - without the uncanny magical aptitude, or the elvish and sly ears of their close relatives - could settle. From what her father had told her, it had remained that way until just a year before she was born… the day Rusl returned from a trip to Kakariko and stumbled upon the abandoned child of a likely unfortunate Hylian couple.

Against his 'better judgement', as the townspeople would say, Rusl brought the child home to be raised as his own. The child had already had a name engraved into a tiny silver pendant about his neck, 'Link'. He supposed the name was derived from the legendary hero of the past, and refrained from questioning it. Him and Uli were quick to teach the young boy the ways of Ordon, and in their young childhood years, Ilia was swift in her defense of her new best friend, who hardly understood why the people of his home seemed to dislike him so.

It wasn't until the age of ten when Link truly discovered the reason behind his 'extended family's' distrust toward him, when a young boy Ilia wasn't too fond of - Kerro, his name was - teased Link for his appearance.

_Link and Ilia had taken quickly to fishing with awfully hand-made makeshift rods, and often mentioned to Rusl how they wished Colin would come join them._

_'Colin is too young,' He would say, 'give him some time."_

_And so the two would busy themselves with their childish competition, enjoying their time together… until the neighborhood bully showed up._

_"Ay, uglies! Whatchu doin' away from home, huh? Ain't lil kids like you s'posed to be snugglin' up with their mommies, instead'a out here with the adults?" Kerro, the gangly red-haired boy nobody seemed to like very much, grabbed the two children by the backs of their clothing. "Specially you, Mister 'Superior'." Kerro addressed Link specifically, tugging on the tips of his pointed ears._

_Ilia knew how Link hated that, and jerked away from the boy. "Go away Kerro, leave us alone!" She shouted, stomping her foot in that hilariously childish way of hers. "My dad's going to be so mad when he finds out you were teasing us!"_

_Like Rusl, Bo seemed completely content with Link's presence in the village, and made no move to send the boy away. Kerro, amused, only sneered in response._

_"Aw, daddy's little girl, huh? Jus' 'cause you're the Mayor's daughter don't make you any more intimidatin'." With a wolfish grin, Kerro wrapped his arm around young Link's neck, much to the his horror. "Ya don't blend in, Elf-boy. You should go back home, where they actually want you! What'ya say?"_

_Elf-boy. Ilia's eyes widened when she realize what Kerro had just said, and braced herself for the rage of an insulted Link. Kerro never stood a chance._

_Within seconds, Link an Kerro tussled in the dirt, darkening their clothing and rolling them down the hill. Ilia, fully expecting this to happen at the sound of the common insult, made no move to stop the scuffle until she heard the sickening crack of a broken nose as Kerror bucked, twisted his head back, and slammed his face into the sign post behind him. The sudden gush of blood prompted Link to step away from him and back to Ilia's side, the subtle spark of remorse in his heavily lidded eyes._

_"Sorry…" Link mumbled, wringing his hands together. Sorry, apparently, wasn't enough in the eyes of the townsfolk, who had gathered at the scene of the fight to glare and sneer at poor, confused Link._

_They spat insults Link didn't understand, and continued to do so until Ilia tugged him away from the continuously growing crowd, muttering soothing words into her best friend's ears. "Come on, Link," she said to him, "Let's go." And they had stumbled all the way to Colin's house, settling on the porch where Link proceeded to confide in her._

_"Why do they say that?"_

_Ilia, surprised, offered only a saddened expression, pulling her knees to her chest. "Because you're special." How true that was, Ilia wasn't sure, but it visibly brightened Link's mood, so she continued. "For one, you have better hearing than the rest of us," she smiled and tugged playfully on his ear, and this time, Link only giggled boyishly. "And remember that time you could sense the spirit, but we couldn't? That's special."_

_"I… I guess. Thanks, Ilia." Afterwards, they had gone in to fabricate a long, intricate story to Rusl and Uli, and see how they reacted._

Ilia smiled at the memory, not realizing that she had already made it to Link's comfy little home. Regaining her bearings, she cupped her hands around her mouth and stood up on her toes, "Link! Get down here!" Of course, this wasn't a random visit, as the two had planned a day with Colin the previous night, and Link had, predictably, slept in.

Within moments, Link appeared and made his way towards her, bright smile taking up most of his face. Ilia's heart fluttered at the sight, and moved to take her friend's hand.

"Hey Ilia. Did you tell Colin we were coming today?"

"Mhm," Ilia nodded and tugged Link along behind her, back into the town. "He's waiting at home, and you slept in, so he's probably wondering where we are!"

Link awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, fully aware of his… habit. "Y-yeah, sorry about that." Ilia only rolled her eyes and continued.

In the middle of town, halfway to Colin's home, Link suddenly stopped and pulled Ilia back, spinning her around to face him with a familiar sly smile on his face, an expression Ilia had come to associate with Link when he was up to something.

"L-Link? Come on! Colin's going to be so upset if we don't co-"

To say she had expected Link to press his lips to hers would be an understatement - she hadn't, not at all. Part of her wanted to slap him for doing this all out in the open, where she knew the townspeople would react unkindly, and the other half wanted to embrace it.

Link pulled away, grinning wildly at Ilia as she pouted, head cocked. She nervously cast a glance around them, before pulling him in once more to resume the kiss he had broken off way too early, in her opinion.

"You're an idiot, Link."

He laughed, his arms wrapped tightly around her. "That's why you love me."

"Yeah."

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Unknown to the happy pair, the angered eyes of a quite traditional Ordonian couple looked on, hissing out words only meant to be heard by each other.

"Eugh, look at that. Ilia's such a beautiful girl, she could have any Ordonian boy, but no! She chooses a Hylian, of all people!" The woman, garbed in fine Ordonian clothing, rested her hands on her hips, tutting in irritation. "Damn kid should just go back to his own people, at least they'd want him." Her husband shrugged.

"She would do fine with our son, don't you think? Rory would love her." He said, resting one hand on his wife's shoulder. "But she loves that kid, so don't you think we should let them be?"

The woman huffed and glared at the man, who shrank back with his hands raised in a yield.

"Okay, okay. Well, the town to the east hates his kind as much as we do, and they send a caravan each week…" The woman's eyes lit up, and she gripped her husbands hand in excitement.

"Aha! Looks like my husband does have a brain, after all!"

The man only nodded solemnly.

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**I know that was awful and stupid and egh, and I'll probably rewrite it so it makes more sense and is more fun to read, but my hands cramped and I wanted to finish it up while the idea was still fresh in my mind. Maybe I'll continue it, yeah? Maybe, depends.**

**Have a good day!**

**~ Sam**


End file.
